Summer programs at Wyoming Catholic College

Those of you who are looking for something worthy to do during the summer you might check these programs sponsored by Wyoming Catholic College:

1. A Catholic Rendezvous on The Way of the Family is a seminar retreat for couples of any age that will occur at WCC on June 23-27, 2010. The program focuses on Pope John Paul’s illuminating observation that "As goes the family so goes the world." The essential question for seminar participants is: How can Catholic family life lead to salvation? The seminar retreat is directed by Father Fred Miller from Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Biblical guidance on family issues will be offered by Curtis and Michaelann Martin, authors of several books and an EWTN series on Catholic family matters. Father Bob Cook, President of Wyoming catholic College, will lead conversations on great families from the good books. The Conference fee is $1,999 per couple and includes tuition, room, meals, books and outdoor activities including fly fishing, trail rides and day hikes to the Falls at Sinks Canyon.

2. A Catholic Rendezvous on Leading the Restoration of Christian Culture will be held at WCC on August 12-15, 2010. Designed for Christian leaders, the program focuses on The Parable of the Sower and the fruitful soil of Christian culture. The key issues for this Seminar include a conversation about the essence of Christian culture and how we can restore this culture in our families, communities and busainess organizations. The program is based on the works of Dr. John Senior and is offered by three of his students including Bishop James Conley of the Archdiocesce of Denver, Dr. Robert Carlson, Academic Dean of Wyoming Catholic College and Professor Herb Mosher. The Conference fee of $1,250 per person ($2,150 per couple) covers tuition, room, board, local transportation, trail rides, day hikes, fly fishing and other outdoor activities.

3. Wyoming Catholic College offers college-bound high school students a two-week introduction to liberal education in God’s Country from July 15-30, 2010 at WCC. Each morning students will learn to think about great ideas from philosophy, literature, theology, Latin and science. Students will participate in a rich spritual life that includes daily Mass, adoration and the Liturgy of the Hours. Afternoons and several evenings will be spent outdoors in the Wind River Mountains enjoying trail rides, fly fishing, hikes, swimming and an overnight camping trip. The cost is $895 per student and covers all lodging, food, class materials, equipment, excursions and recreation fees.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER FOR ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS, PLEASE GO TO;WWW.WYOMINGCATHOLICCOLLEGE.COM or call toll-free at 877-332-2930.

11 Responses to Summer programs at Wyoming Catholic College

I respectfully ask, to whom are they gearing these classes? Class #1 especially confuses me. I can only assume retired couples are their target. Those of us raising families can’t afford the class, and (like most classes for couples) no provision is made for the children the couples are trying to raise. I would guess that couples (can we call them marrieds?) in the heat of the battle of child-rearing would benefit most from this class, yet the class is organized to be the least accessible to these very couples. I have a great interest in WCC, and I believe they scheduled their classes with good intentions. However, like Rose mentioned above, I nor my teens will attend these wonderful-sounding programs because they are priced out of middle-class range. Elite, expensive programs are perfectly American, and an American college can offer any program it deems financially viable. Is anyone else bothered by a Catholic college choosing this route?

My college-bound high school student will be attending a similar program affiliated with Opus Dei — cost is approximately $475 for a one-week session. The WCC program is not an outlier in that regard — it’s reasonable to expect that any program providing room, board, and supervised activities for teenagers is going to cost at least $400 per week. But I agree that not many couples who are in the trenches raising children are going to be in the position to take advantage of the first program, even at half the cost, unless there were a simultaneous (inexpensive) children’s program.

The couple’s retreat is five days. I’ve know plenty of Catholic couples who have gone away for this amount of time and left the kids with relatives. Although we can’t afford it (with two kids in college), it does not seem unreasonably priced for a “vacation” for two with everything provided. As Flambeaux touched on, there are people who will be cooking, teaching, etc. – just because it’s a Catholic event doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get some kind of just compensation for their work.

I was also under the impression that the couples retreat was less for those “in the trenches” then those not yet there; i.e. young marrieds still double income and anticipating children in the (hopefully) near future. I have several recently married friends who are professionals, double income for the moment, for whom the cost would not be burdensome and things like childcare are not yet an issue. As for myself (four young kids) it seems like what I would spend if my husband and I decided to go on a cruise, but far more intellectually productive. And we’d do the same thing with the kids that we would do if we went on that hypothetical cruise: let the kids have a week with the grandparents.

I, too, would love to attend the couples retreat, but circumstances of babysitting, money, and my brother’s ordination that week preclude us from participating. However, I don’t have a problem with WCC doing this even if it is priced outside of middle class families’ budget. WCC, like every start-up college/university, has facilities that need to be utilized with paying customers. If some of these seminars in the summer pay for a few salaries and a heat bill in the winter, go for it! It’s certainly within their right.

Let’s face it, WCC is not in a major metropolis. There are not a lot of low-income/lower middle class families who can travel there for a seminar like they could if WCC was located near Chicago, New York, LA, etc. If you can afford to travel out there for a seminar, you can probably afford the $2000 for a week’s stay, which is certainly in line with the vacations many of my co-workers take. Yes, I wish I could participate in this, too, but I don’t begrudge WCC for perhaps helping to meet its budget with events like this.

FYI the correct dates for the high school program (per the website) are July 17 (Saturday) to July 30. Also, participants must be 16 already by the time the program starts. The cost for the program seems in line with the cost of similar programs at other Catholic colleges. I truly doubt WCC is making any kind of profit on any of the programs. They would likely be very happy if they break even or just experience a small loss.

There are many ways to accommodate families with young children for the couple’s program. My wife and I went to Rome for Holy Week, by ourselves, when our children were then 6, 4, and 18 mos.

Like the rest of WCC, these programs are unique and unlike any offered by any other college. Lander, WY, is not a hop-skip-and-jump from a major airport either. But the programs seem worth the travel and worth the money. If you can’t go, oh well. But if you can, then it seems like a good idea to check them out!

TAC’s high school summer program runs approximately $975. Cost includes tuition, housing, meals, books, and organized activities off campus. It seems to me that WCC is providing a reasonably priced program.

Just a few points to clarify issues raised here:
1. The College is not seeking to raise money from these programs. Rather, we are hosting PEAK to give prospective students an “insider” view of what life is like at Wyoming Catholic College; and the Rendezvous to showcase the College to adults while offering a unique retreat/conference experience here in God’s country.
2. A free registration for two will be offered via the Relevant Radio network in a couple weeks. If you can’t locate a station in your area, I believe you can still enter to win from their website.

Mark Randall, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Wyoming Catholic College

As to calling Catholic education “elitist”, I suspect one does not realize that all American university education is elitist, compared with the rest of the world. As a homeschooling mom, I tried to create an atmosphere of dedication to getting scholarships for college. Moms can easily spur their children on to go to great colleges by challenging the kids along the way and preparing them specifically for TAC, WYC, etc. in the same way that kids are prepped for medical and dental schools.

If the parents are focused on getting the children to excellent Catholic colleges, it will happen. Some Catholic high schools, especially NAPCIS schools, as well as homeschooling, provide “feeder schools” to the above colleges, just as the Ivy League colleges have feeder schools. If one really wants to get into Princeton, Yale or Harvard with scholarships, for example, the Eastern boarding prep schools are the way to go.

Same with Catholic colleges and universities. Elitism has always been part of higher education, so just prepare your children for such competition and see what happens.

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